|
JEFFERSON CITY — Before the Senate adjourned for its mid-session recess, lawmakers gave initial approval to a measure to protect co-employees from personal lawsuits.
Senate Bill 8 received initial approval on Tuesday. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mt. Vernon, would ensure that co-employees will not be held responsible for workplace injuries under the workers' compensation system, except when they engage in a negligent act that purposefully and dangerously caused or increased the risk of injury.
The bill would abrogate an appeals court decision in Robinson v Hooker that opened up co-employees to a higher risk of being sued for accidents at work. The decision was made in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District on August 3, 2010.
Debate on the measure centered around a provision relating to occupational diseases being covered under workers' compensation laws. The bill specifies that workers’ compensation will be the exclusive remedy for workplace claims, except in cases where employers intentionally put their employees at risk of injury or death.
An amendment proposed by Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and approved on the floor of the Senate would state that in cases of toxic exposure, employers will not have subrogation rights, meaning they cannot sue to recover workers’ compensation payments.
Listen to “The Senate Minute” for March 16, which features debate on Senate Bill 8.
The Senate also began discussion this week on Senate Bill 1, another issue relating to employees. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville, would prevent employers from requiring employees to engage in or cease engaging in certain labor practices. More specifically, employees would not be required to partake or not participate in labor organizations, pay dues, or other charges required by labor organization members as a condition of employment.
Supporters of Senate Bill 1, also called “Right to Work,” say the measure would give employees the choice of whether or not to join a union and would encourage employers to locate in the state. Opponents are concerned that the measure would harm workers’ rights. While no further action was taken on the bill this week, the legislation may be taken up on the floor at any future point in the session.
Listen to “The Senate Minute” for March 15, which features debate on Senate Bill 1. Click here to watch and listen to daily audio and video clips regarding the measure.
On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee met to discuss several measures relating to charter schools.
Senate Bill 294, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D- St. Louis, would allow existing high-risk or alternative charter schools to include substitute arrangements that would allow students to obtain credits required for graduation in the charter. Alternative arrangements could include credit for off-campus instruction, embedded credit, work experience, independent studies, and performance-based credit options. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would conduct a study of any charter school granted alternative arrangements for students to obtain credit to assess student performance, graduation rates, educational outcomes, and entry into the workforce or higher education.
The measure also allows charter schools to participate in the School Flex Program. In addition, the program will be expanded to include students ages 17 to 21, who have not obtained a high school degree and meet the other program requirements.
Senate Bill 184 would allow the Special Administrative Board of the St. Louis City School District to be the sponsor of a charter school and declare itself as the local education agency of the charter school for school funding purposes. If the special administrative board is dissolved, the charter school could continue to operate, provided it seeks and obtains a new sponsorship under the new governing board of the school district. The bill also specifies that if the Special Administrative Board sponsors a charter school, the term of the school's charter may be for a period of two years, instead of five. If the charter school does not perform to the academic standards in the charter agreement with the sponsor, the board could close the school at the end of the two-year term and incorporate it into the school district.
Click here to watch and listen to daily audio and video clips from March 16 of Senate Bills 294 and 184 in committee.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate gave first-round approval to several measures:
- Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Sen. Jim Lembke, R-St. Louis, would require the Department of Health and Senior Services to make publicly available on its website, resources relating to umbilical cord blood that have been developed by the Parent's Guide to Cord Blood Foundation. Such resources would include an explanation of the potential value and uses of umbilical cord blood, including cord blood cells and stem cells, and the various options for storing cord blood.
- Sponsored by Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, Senate Bill 62, would allow providers to include any retrieval fee for outsourced records storage service in the fee for release of medical records. The legislation specifies the maximum fee that is allowed to cover the cost of copying and outside storage retrieval for medical records.
- Senate Bill 131, would exempt qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles from the motor vehicle emissions inspection program. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-Wentzville, contains specific definitions on what vehicles qualify under the measure.
- Senate Bill 145, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, would require the auditor in St. Louis, St. Charles, or Jackson counties to annually take an inventory of county property with an original value of $1,000 or more. Current law requires an inventory of county property with an original value of $250 or more.
- Sponsored by Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, Senate Bill 162, would create the “Farm-to-Table Advisory Board” to develop recommendations for ways that allow schools and state facilities to more easily purchase products directly from local farms for use in their cafeterias and ways to increase public awareness about locally-produced food and its relationship to healthy communities and people.
- Senate Bill 220, sponsored by Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa, would modify liens for architects, engineers, landscape architects, land surveyors, and corporations registered to do the work of these professions.
- Sponsored by Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, Senate Bill 250 would require sexual assault offenders to complete certain programs prior to being eligible for parole or conditional release. The legislation would also prohibit sex offenders from living with in 1,000 feet of any licensed child-care facility and any residence, business, nonprofit organization, or church that holds itself out to be a child-care facility.
- Senate Bill 306, sponsored by Sen. Wasson, would modify laws relating to the administration of credit unions.
On Thursday, these measures received second-round approval and were sent to the House for similar consideration.
The Missouri Senate will stand in recess for its mid-session break next week, with all members reconvening at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 28. The First Regular Session of the 96th General Assembly runs through Friday, May 13, 2011.
This update is written once a week throughout the legislative session. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their district, or, when the Legislature is in session, listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom. There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:
- Missouri Legislative Update (MLU) – A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
- Capital Dialogue – Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
- This Week in the Missouri Senate – A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
- Senate Minute – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast.
- Daily Audio / Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.
- Daily News Clips – The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips from various print and online publications that cover issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online and is offered as a subscription service.
Subscribe / Unsubscribe
-END-
|
|
